Exids IT Solutions

Preparing to Disable Services

It is actually quite simple to disable services, but choosing what services you want to disable can be a little more difficult.

If you have not already booted your computer into safe mode, please go back to the section that describes how to do this before continuing. It is important that you perform these procedures in safe mode as it will ensure the services stay disabled once you reboot, particularly if you are infected with a virus.

1. Boot into Safe Mode .
2. Open the system configuration utility
3. Click on the tab called Services . Put a check mark in the box next to Hide all Microsoft Services. After doing this you may see only a few services, this is normal. We are now ready to disable services!

Disable Non-Essential Services

This step is where things start to get a bit tricky. I am going to put two scenarios in front of you so you can choose what you feel best describes the current state of your computer.

Scenario 1 – “The Super Clean”

If you have many pop-ups, your computer runs slow, you have error messages and you have just about had it with you PC, you may want to choose this option. This option can create a lot more work for you in the end, but it almost always guarantees a very clean system when you are through

Scenario 2 – “The Selective Clean”

If your system has been running fairly well, and you do not suspect spyware, malware or viruses choose this option. It will be faster than “The Super Clean”, but may be difficult to choose what services you want to disable.

“The Super Clean”

-WARNING-

The Super Clean is a full fledge disabling of ALL non-essential services. When you disable all non-essential services you will suffer the following consequences and will need to take appropriate action on the reboot to rectify these situations:

• Some programs may not work properly. This includes Anti-Virus, and other security software. If you disable software, you will need to re-install the software and update it to ensure you are protected and have the latest version, or determine what service needs to be re-checked to make the software work properly.
  
• Also, because this method may render some software inoperable, you may see error messages on the reboot that states a program is corrupt, disabled, or non-functional. Once again, these problems will be rectified by re-installing the software, or re-enabling the services that you disabled.
  
• You may lose the ability to connect to the internet. If this is the case, you will need to reinstall all software provided to you by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) in order to get back online, or re-check the services that need to be running for you to connect to the internet. Most users on cable internet will not have to worry about this problem.
  

Directions / Steps:

1. Boot into Safe Mode.
2. Open the system configuration utility
3. Click on the tab called Services . Put a check mark in the box next to Hide all Microsoft Services. After doing this you may see only a few services, this is normal.
4. Click the Disable All button, then Click Apply. Yes, it’s that easy.

Proceed on to the next section on disabling startup items to complete the Super Clean.

“The Selective Clean”

If you have chosen to perform a selective clean you will only be disabling certain services.

1. Please read the warning about disabling services as disabling certain services may cause problems with certain functionality of the computer on the next reboot.
2. The key to a successful selective clean is to pay very close attention to the column called ” Manufacturer”. The first thing you want to do is determine what services you DO NOT want disable. You can do this by identifying the manufacturers you know and trust. If you are unsure, you may want to err on the side of caution and not disable the service.
3. Once you have identified the services you DO NOT want to disable, proceed with un-checking the services in the “Service” column that you DO want to disable.
4. Once you are satisfied with the services you have chosen to disable, Click the ” Apply ” button.

Notes about disabling services:

Please read the warning about disabling services if you have any problems after modifying start up services. This will explain why you may be seeing these errors, and what you can do to prevent them.

Popularity: 1% [?]